12/10/90 The head of a Dallas advertising agency introduces Saddam Hussein voodoo dolls. The dolls retail at $10 and come with a label that reads “Stick it to Saddam. Stick him in the head and puncture his plans. . . . Puncture his stomach–but beware, it’s full of poison gas. . . . Jab Saddam in the legs and bring him to his knees. . . . Don’t waste time stabbing Saddam’s heart, he has none.” A sales representative tells the New York Times, “If they reach a settlement in January, the shelf life is gone.”
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1/11/91 Governor Thompson sends 2,500 “Made in Illinois” T-shirts to Illinoisans serving in the Gulf. The Old Town School of Folk Music launches “Harmonica Desert Shield,” supplying U.S. personnel in the Gulf with 200 harmonicas and instructional tapes.
1/22/91 The first of the Gulf War 900 phone lines opens, offering draft counseling and an Adopt-a-Troop service. Other 900 lines offer a war protest hotline, Israeli Red Cross updates, and an opinion poll asking whether Saddam Hussein should be tried for war crimes.
2/13/91 Southwest Airlines launches its “LUVGRAMS–Send Your Heart to Saudi” campaign: more valentines for U.S. troops.
3/2/91 Cable station VH-1 airs a satellite broadcast of music videos “carefully selected to conform to standards in place for troops in the Gulf.” The special is hosted by Cher, who calls it “the least we can do for the heroic members of our armed forces.”
5/1/91 Bluesman Leslie Isaiah Gaines advertises his new record featuring “The Insane Hussein Blues, Parts I & II,” “America Kicked Butt,” and the “Kick Some Butt Blues.” This follows country singer Hank Williams Jr.’s earlier release of “Don’t Give Us a Reason,” in which he warns Hussein to “back off and get smart.”
6/7/91 To coincide with the “National Victory Celebration” in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Postal Service unveils its new 29-cent Desert Storm commemorative stamp.
